Towards the end of last year I attended the fabulous Friends of the Farmer event. This is an impressive culinary event that is hosted a few times a year by Catering Edge. The event is a partnership between local communities comprising local farmers and local chefs serving up delicious food that is both fresh and seasonal. The event takes place in a beautiful and elegant country style farm house at Kazi Farm, in the vicinity of the Cradle of Humankind.

We arrived at the venue on a hot summer’s day and we were greeted with a refreshing welcome drink; a berry margarita. The host then escorted us inside and we were seated at one of the large full length tables along with fellow guests. Friends of the Farmer is a social experience as well as a culinary one, so you can look forward to meeting new people who also have an appreciation for great food. The self-serving drink tables were fully stocked with freshly squeezed fruit juice, homemade cordials and fruit infused ice-cold water. The barmen were also able to assist with recommendations of craft beers and alcoholic ice teas; I loved the ice tea. The canapes served at Friends of the Farmer included lamb and halloumi flatbreads as well as melon and Parma ham. The starters were served on large white-washed timber sharing platters. These included stuffed zucchini rolls with lemon dressing, a trout and apple salad, cucumber soup and mint gelato and artichoke, spinach and mushroom galette. The starters were beautifully presented and they tasted absolutely amazing. My personal favourites were the stuffed zucchini rolls and the cucumber soup; just delicious and so perfect for a summer’s day starter. For the main meal, we were served chicken kebabs and rump and onion kebabs. They were served with a side of fresh summer vegetable Cous Cous salad and beautifully prepared asparagus. The chicken and rump were cooked to perfection with a lovely subtle char to them. For dessert, we were treated to the most delicious very berry Pavlova. I’m a total sucker for Pavlova and this one was nothing short of outstanding!

Heili and Grant Zimmerman – the chefs behind it all – have a genuine passion for what they do and the beautiful food at Friends of the Farmer is testament to this. The service at the event is great and the venue is just gorgeous. It’s the perfect event for a special and unique day out of the hustle and bustle of Johannesburg. I look forward to visiting Friends of the Farmer for their next event soon.